The Housing Project (Amrita Kuteeram) Beneficiaries
15 January, 2004
Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu
On Amma's second visit to Rameshwaram, the program site was located
just outside village where Amma had inaugurated an Amritakuteeram
neighbourhood the year before. 108 families, most of whom could
only afford to eat one meal a day and used to live in thatched huts
made of palm leaves and tent poles, have found a home here.
Just how poor these really people are is not always obvious at
first. The women wear colourful saris and gold earrings, bangles
and bracelets, the men a decent shirt and the kids are dressed neatly.
Yet, when you talk with them you learn that most often the nice
sari is borrowed, the earrings and bangles are fake metal and the
children's clothes were handed down from other people. People in
the prime of their lives only get the odd job every now and then,
and all have to come by on very little money. Still there are smiles
on their faces because today Amma is coming to their housing project,
and they intent to receive Her in style. En route to the stage Amma
would be driving past most of the houses, and in front of each house
the inhabitants had lit an oil lamp, decorated the doorstep and
pathway with flower petals and had a plate of puja flowers ready
to shower Amma's car with as She passed by.
 Murugan
and his wife, Mukamal, live together with their two children, Ishwaran
and Daneshwaran, and Murugan's father. He works as a part-time carpenter
on fishing boats, earning Rs.150 a day (about $3 U.S.D.). This is
not a bad salary; the problem is he only gets to work eight to 10
days a month because when the boats are at sea he is jobless. His
father helps out when he can. Murugan's and Mukumal's biggest worry
however is the education of their two children. School fees annually
come to about Rs. 1,000; for them, this is difficult to afford.
 Next-door
lives Mangaleshwari with her mother Punata and father Mutujal, and
their children Anita (15), Vinodkumar (12) and Vigneshwaran (10).
Her husband is an alcoholic and does not live with the family anymore
because because he was abusing the children. He is suffering from
jaundice now due to his alcohol abuse. At first glance their house
seems uninhabited. Not even straw mats on the floor.
Mangaleshwari makes pappadams [crispy paper-thin bread] that she
sells to local restaurants. On a good day, she makes a profit of
Rs.30. On a bad day the family just eats pappadams. For a long time,
she could hardly work because she had measles. For an adult, it
can be fatal. Her arms are scarred from pocks left by the disease.
Her father's eyesight is failing, but he still manages to bring
in a few extra rupees selling grapes. Her oldest daughter, Mangaleshwari
says with pride, is still in school; her favourite subject is Tamil.
Her 12-year-old son is also doing well in school, and he really
likes it too. It is not until the end of our conversation that she
shyly confesses that her boy will have to stop going to school soon,
because the fees are simply too high for them to afford.
 In
house number 28, street-sweeper Ayanar lives with his wife, Mariamal,
father-in-law, and their two sons. The oldest is named Ramachandran;
the youngest they've yet to name. Tonight they will take him to
Amma and ask Her to chose it. "We are happy," Ayanar keeps
saying with a bright smile when asked about his life.
 The
house of Murugan, the fisherman's helper, must be one of the busiest.
His house is home to his wife and their two sons, as well as his
wife's parents and sister and four nieces. Murugan works as a helper
on fishing boats. On a good day, he can make as much as Rs. 100,
but with a bad catch that can go down to Rs. 30--or even nothing.
They used to live on the sand dunes on the eastern part of the island
in a make shift hut of coconut leaves. Murugan's son, Maikundan
(on the right side of the photo) is 11.
When asked if he likes school, his father tells us that the boy
does not go to school because they do not have enough money for
the fees. When asked how he spends his day, the boy just stares.
"He is free," says his mother.
Touched by the stories of the inhabitants of Rameshwaram's Amritakuteeram,
one of Amma's Western devotees spontaneously decided to collect
donations among the group that travelled with Her to this programme.
Within a few hours there was enough money raised to send at least
50 children to school for a year. This devotee then took the news
to Amma, who entrusted the brahmachari in charge of the Amritakuteeram
project to determine which children will benefit and make sure that
the money is spent only on their education. Amma added that She
intends on building a school here, but that takes time to organise.
- Devadath
|
Amma 
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